Clutch control mechanism



y 6, 1938- v. w. KILIESRATH 2,124,781

CLUTCH CONTROL MECHANISM Original Filed Aug. 28, 1931 INVENTOR V/CTOP h! AZ/fJ/PA 77/ ATTOR EY Patented July 26, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIQE Bragg-Kliesrath Corporation,

South Bend,

Ind., a corporation of New York Original application August 28, 1931, Serial No. 559,990. Divided and this application February 3, 1937, Serial No. 123,748

1 Claim.

This invention relates to clutch controls, and is illustrated as embodied in a vehicle such as an automobile arranged to permit of quicker clutch engagement when in high than in low gear, there- 5 by giving a soft and easy engagement of the clutch in low gear without interfering with rapid and smooth engagement in high gear.

While not in all its features necessarily so limited, the invention is especially advantageous in controlling the actuation, and especially the engagement, of a power-actuated clutch, and is illustrated as a vacuum-operated clutch actuated by the suction of the intake manifold, and preferably controlled by the accelerator, which also operates the engine throttle.

The most important feature of the invention relates to the provision of a simple type of bleed valve for controlling the clutch engaging operation of the aforementioned power means.

" The particular arrangement shown in the drawing gives relatively rapid engagement of the clutch in high speed (direct drive), and relatively slow engagement in low speed and in reverse.

,.- Other objects of the invention and desirable details of construction and combinations of parts will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment, which description is taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of so much of an automobile as shows the engine, clutch, and

change-speed transmission, together with a preferred embodiment of my invention;

, Figure 2 is a top plan view of the transmission of Figure 1, and its associated parts;

Figure 3 is a section through the transmissionmounted clutch-controlling valve of Figures 1 and 2; and

Figure 4 is a section through the acceleratorcontrolled clutch-controlling valve of Figure 1.

In the arrangement of Figures 1-4, the automobile chassis includes the usual engine IU having an intake manifold l2 controlled by a throttle M, the usual clutch l6 operable manually, if desired, by means such as a clutch pedal l8, and the usual change-speed transmission 2!] driving the propeller shaft 22 and having a gear shift lever 24.

The clutch is preferably operated by vacuum r, power from the suction of the intake manifold l2, there being shown a power cylinder 26 pivoted on a bracket 28 carried by the chassis frame, and containing a piston 36 having a piston rod 32 extending through a closure forming the top of cylinder 26 and which is pivotally connected valve either before the throttle is opened or after the same is closed. With the parts as shown, when the accelerator pedal is released, a return spring 46 closes the throttle to idling position and. a return spring 41 opens the valve 36 to establish communication between the manifold l2 and the cylinder 26, thereby causing piston to disengage the clutch. When the accelerator pedal is depressed, the throttle is opened and cylinder 26 is connected to atmosphere, thereby permitting the usual clutch spring to cause the clutch to engage as rapidly as air can escape from the space between piston 30 and the closure at the top of cylinder 26.

The valve 36 includes a casing 56 having an inlet 52 communicating with the intake manifold and having an outlet 54 communicating through conduit 34 with the cylinder 26. The casing also has openings 56 communicating with the atmosphere and protected by a cup-shaped baffie 58 held by a nut 6!! formed with a passage for the operating connection 62.

The connection 62 operates a valve piston 64, against the resistance of a return spring 66, to connect the outlet 54 with the inlet 52, when in its right-hand position as shown in Figure 4, this being the position with the accelerator released and the throttle closed and the clutch disengaged, spring 41 being sufliciently stronger than spring 65 to cause such action.

When the accelerator is depressed, spring 66 shifts the valve piston to the left to connect the outlet 54 to the openings 56, thereby permitting the clutch spring to cause the clutch to engage. The valve casing has an opening 68 to permit escape of the air ahead of the valve piston during this movement.

In order to make opening 68 small enough to have a dashpot action, slowing up the valve movement during engagement of the clutch, without restricting its movement in the opposite direction to disengage the clutch, the casing may also be provided with an inwardly-opening check valve Ill. The valve piston may also be provided with a friction disk 12 which also serves to graduate and control its movement in a direction to cause clutch engagement.

According to an important feature of the present invention, the actuation of the clutch is controlled, in this particular instance the control being for the purpose of insuring smoothness of engagement, by means controlled by and preferably mounted on the transmission 20 or its equivalent. I prefer to use for this purpose a novel valve .14 shown in detail in Figure 3, and which is connected by means such as a conduit I6 with the top of cylinder 20, to control the escape of the air trapped between piston 30 and the closure at the top of the cylinder 26, and thereby control the dashpot action of the cylinder in graduating the engagement of the clutch.

The particular valve shown in Figure 3 includes a casing I8, open at its rear end, in which is arranged a valve piston 89 having an annular space 82 communicating by passages 84 with the space ahead of the valve piston. A spring 86 is arranged between the valve piston and the head of the casing '18, and a balancing spring 88 is confined between the valve piston and a washer 90 held by a snap-ring 9-2 in the open end of the casing. The valve piston is normally in the central or neutral position shown.

The valve casing has two air inlets 94 and 96, adjustably controlled by needle valves 98, if desired, the inlet 94 being continuously in communication with conduit I6 and the inlet 96 being in communication therewith only in the central or neutral position shown and being cut off therefrom by shifting the valve piston in either direction.

The valve piston 80 is connected, by means such as a rod I00 and a rigid crosshead I02, to one of the usual two parallel movable and lengthwiseslidable gear shift rods or equivalent members I04 and I06, controlled as usual by a driver-operated member such as the gear shift lever 24.

In the usual arrangement of the parts, gear shift lever 24 moves member I04 forward for low gear and rearward for reverse, member I06 being in neutral; or it moves member I06 rearward for second speed and forward for high (direct drive), member I04 being in neutral. All passenger cars and most trucks today use this shift.

In the illustrated arrangement, the valve piston 80 is connected to the shift member I04, so that when this member is in neutral (i. e. while member I06 is being used, with the gears either in second or in high) both inlets 94 and 96 are in communication with conduit 16, permitting relatively rapid clutch engagement, or at least engagement which is not as slow as when inlet 96 is cut off. If, however, the gear shift lever 24 is manipulated to shift into either low or reverse, by moving shift member I04 one way or the other from neutral, inlet 96 is cut off and the clutch engagement is slowed up correspondingly to give the slower action desirable at the low speeds.

The invention heretofore described is disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 559,990, filed August 28, 1931, this application constituting a division thereof.

While one illustrative embodiment has been described, it is not my intention to limit the scope of the invention to that particular embodiment, or otherwise than by the terms of the appended claim.

I claim:

A valve for controlling a clutch or the like comprising a casing having an inlet opening, two outlet openings in its side,-a floating spool-shaped valve piston provided with a port in its smalldiametered Waist portion connected with a duct extending through one of the full-bodied end portions thereof, and yieldable means for normally positioning said piston to interconnect all of said openings, two of said openings being connected by means of said port and duct.

VICTOR W. KLIESRATH. 

